The term centumviri means "100 men"; this was the original number of members from which pool the court was selected.
[1] The antiquity of the court is attested by the symbol and formula used in its procedure, the lance (Latin: hasta) as the sign of true ownership, the oath or wager (Latin: sacramentum), the ancient formula for recovery of property or assertion of liberty.
A number of notable orators appeared in this court, including Cicero, Tacitus and Pliny the Younger.
However, it is uncertain whether this court was simply an alternative to the iudex or part of a more complex judicial system.
The term is also applied in the inscriptions of Veii to the municipal senates and Cures, which numbered 100 members.